Author: Andy

Naked Audience

Barley and I passed the Alberta Sanitary folks on their yard debris run this morning. These guys are really nice look like they’re having a good time. As they’re tossing debris bags into the back for the garbage truck, three kids in a house are watching from atop a couch. They’re all in various stages of undress, including the middle child who is completely naked. All three kids are clapping furiously and unabashedly for the yard waste guys. I point out the audience to the yard waste guy who chuckles. I guess I thought it was funnier than he did. Or maybe it’s just part of the routine.

GIS Data no secret

Conneticut’s Supreme Court ruled that GIS data cannot be withheld from the public on the ground that it may expose potential trade secrets or public safety issues. I find this a relief since access to data means students, companies and agencies can do meaningful and current research. Besides, like Justice Vertefeuille said:

Justice Christine S. Vertefeuille, writing for the court, rejected the argument that the trade secret exemption could apply to the electronic GIS maps. All of the information contained in the maps is available piecemeal from other town departments, so there is nothing secret about them, she wrote.

Not to mention – our taxes generally pay for the collection of this data. We should have access to it. And while I would prefer free access to it, I have no problem with agencies charging for it, especially when they have a sliding cost scale.

Apple Tree update

Roundheaded apple tree borer
Doug and I took down the infested apple tree yesterday. It was fairly easy to cut down (Thanks to Stihl) and large portions of the tree were standing dead. We identified the culprit of the infestation – roundheaded apple tree borers. We found several larva and pupa inside the tunneled out limbs.

Once we identified the pest, we could now know how to treat… oh.. nevermind. Well, one ironic factor:

“The downy woodpecker is the only known natural enemy.”
Roundheaded apple tree borer pupa
One bit of concern – some places suggest the only way to dispose of the wood is by burning it. This may work well for orchards, but I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do. I’d better put a call in to the Clackamas County’s Extension office (Multnomah doesn’t have one).

Barley’s Brother

Michelle, Barley and I walked to pick up a few groceries for dinner last night. On the walk back, we passed the always crowded Binks and Michelle heard someone exclaim “Hey, there goes my dog’s brother!” Sure enough, it was Hank‘s owner. We’d discovered Hank on Dogster a while back and were startled by the similarities. We meant to meet to let the dogs play, but never got a chance too.

Oddly enough, they now lives in the area, so we’ll probably be encountering him at the dog park. Clam chowda.

3DSF

in what will ultimately be used to improve the realism of the late mac classic “Vette,” Google & Standford will start mapping San Francisco in 3D. The reasoning? Well, in the original game you could change the gravity so that when you jumped on a hill you’d sail through the air. A 3D map of SF would let you know exactly which building you’d be careening into the 6th story of.

Laugh if you will, but after playing that game I knew my way around San Francisco. Not that I was old enough to drive, or that you need to drive in SF.

de-nerded

Today I inadvertently e-mailed a software user group our superuser and ssh account info when my address book filled in the To line. I think this should qualify as one of the most embarrassing work-related mistakes I’ve ever made, but I’m feeling pretty good about it since I was overly stressed and I had just saved all the final grades for a class.

Luckily I noticed the mistake right as Eudora whisked the message away and was able to change the passwords before anyone even got the e-mail. Whew.